''Bubba Ho-Tep'' is a 1994

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by American author Joe R. Lansdale. It was first published on August 1, 1994, in the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

themed anthology ''The King is Dead'' and has since been re-published in various formats. A film adaptation of the same name was released in 2002 and starred

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

as the lead character of Elvis.

Synopsis

In this story, the real

switched places years ago with an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the wor ...

. Tired of the life of drugs, women, and people who wanted nothing more than his money, he settles in to live a life of obscurity in an

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

trailer park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...

, where he becomes the best Elvis impersonator ever. Then his health begins to fail, and he falls from a stage and breaks his hip. His trailer burns down and with it all evidence that proves he was the real Elvis Presley. He ends up in a shabby

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...

, which is where the story starts. Late at night, Elvis hears scuttling noises and other creepy sounds in the otherwise quiet Mud Creek Shady Grove Convalescence Home. He befriends a black man, who is convinced he is

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, and the two begin to piece together that an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

is stalking the halls and sucking up souls in the night. Together the two men confront the monster, as no one will believe them.

Adaptations

A film adaptation of ''Bubba Ho-Tep'' was released in 2002 and was directed by

Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, film producer, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the Phantasm (franchise), '' ...

, who also wrote the film's

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

. Bruce Campbell was brought in to portray the film's lead character of Elvis Presley and

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

as Kennedy. Due to a successful

roadshow theatrical release A roadshow theatrical release or reserved-seat engagement is the practice of opening a film in a limited number of theaters in major cities for a specific period of time before the wide release of the film. Roadshows would generally mimic a live ...

held by Coscarelli, ''Bubba Ho-Tep'' quickly obtained

cult movie A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated vi ...

status.

Sequels

Coscarelli never intended to create a sequel to ''Bubba Ho-Tep'', and the end credits announced a second film entitled ''Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires'' as a joke. He changed his mind after the positive reception of the first film and after several people inquired about the sequel. Lansdale developed ideas discussed for the follow-up into a novella, ''Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers'', published in 2017. This story took place earlier in Elvis's life, during a period in which he worked for Colonel Parker battling monsters prior to exchanging identifies with Sebastian Haff. In 2018,

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

released a five-issue

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

adaptation of the novella, retitled ''Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers''. The series was supervised by Lansdale, written by Joshua Jabcuga, and illustrated by Tadd Galusha. In 2019, Dynamite Entertainment published a four-issue crossover miniseries, ''Army of Darkness / Bubba Ho-Tep'', a sequel to the original story which saw Elvis team up with Bruce Campbell's iconic character, Ash Williams.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' heavily criticized ''Bubba Ho-Tep'' upon its initial release, as they considered the story to be one of the worst of the Elvis anthology as they thought that Lansdale "spends too much time on The King's hard-ons" and that "too much bad writing leaves the reader all shook up and itchin like a man on a fuzzy tree".

References

{{Joe R. Lansdale 1994 American novels Alternate history novellas American novels adapted into films American short stories Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy Fiction about mummies Novels by Joe R. Lansdale Works by Joe R. Lansdale Night Shade Books books